Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Markets in Everything: 3D Printer for Medicine

YahooNews -- "From creating intricate guitars to delicious pieces of chocolate,
3D printing is moving beyond the realm of making simple models and into
the realm of creating useful things. And thanks to researchers at University of Glasgow,
this cutting-edge technology could take an incredible new turn that
could save millions of lives: A 3D printer capable of creating drugs.

Professor Lee Cronin and his team introduced the tech in a research paper, published in Nature Chemistry. The researchers modified a currently available 3D
printer they purchased for $2,000, adding vessels with chemicals in
them. In doing so, they created what they call "reactionware," a far
cheaper, smaller scale version of incredibly expensive chemical
engineering equipment.

According to Cronin, "we could use 3D
printers to revolutionize access to health care in the developing world,
allowing diagnosis and treatment to happen in a much more efficient and
economical way than is possible now." The innovation could expand
access to expensive cancer drugs, allowing pharmacies to fill
prescriptions for patients on demand or even allowing patients to print
their own medicine from home."

3-D printers are unique machine with large functionality and the 3d printing is more affordable, easy to use and speedy than conventional technologies. It has great potential in the production application that seems different from the crowd.